Exhibit A — In re Bank of America California Unemployment Benefits Litigation (Dkt. 538-2, S.D. Cal. No. 3:21-md-02992)

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U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California · No. 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB · Doc. 538-2 · 2025-08-08 · Docket on CourtListener

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EXHIBIT A 
Case 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB     Document 538-2     Filed 08/08/25     PageID.30127 
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Class Action Notice 
Authorized by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District 
of California  
 
 
Did you receive 
California EDD 
unemployment 
insurance or other 
public benefits and 
report an unauthorized 
ATM transaction to 
Bank of America 
between April 1, 2020 
and June 8, 2021? 
 
 
There is a class 
action lawsuit 
and you may 
be a class 
member. 
 
 
 
If you want to 
be part of the 
class action, 
you do not 
need to do 
anything. 
 
If not, you need 
to opt out by 
[date 60 days 
from mailing].  
Details 
regarding how 
to opt out can 
be found on 
page 10). 
 
 
 
Important things to know: 
• 
People who received unemployment insurance and other public benefits 
from the California Employment Development Department (EDD) on Bank of 
America-issued prepaid debit cards and reported unauthorized ATM 
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California 
In re Bank of America Unemployment Benefits Litigation 
Case No. 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB  
Exhibit A
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transactions on their EDD prepaid debit card account to Bank of America 
between April 1, 2020 and June 8, 2021 have filed a lawsuit against Bank of 
America. They allege that Bank of America violated federal and California 
laws by implementing a “Claim Fraud Filter” to close certain claims of 
unauthorized transactions and to freeze certain cardholders’ accounts, by 
failing to include certain security chip technology in EDD prepaid debit cards 
for a period of time, and by understaffing a call center responsible for 
receiving inquiries regarding unauthorized transaction claims during a 
certain period of time.  
• 
Bank of America denies that the alleged conduct violated any law, and 
maintains that its challenged conduct was reasonable and consistent with its 
legal obligations.  
• 
The Court recently approved this case proceeding as a class action on behalf 
of five groups of people (“classes”). Bank of America’s records indicate that 
you may be a member of one or more of these five classes. 
• 
The purpose of this notice is to notify and inform you of the class action so 
you can decide whether you want to stay in the case or not.   
• 
Remaining in this case doesn’t guarantee that you will receive any additional 
money based on the allegations against Bank of America. The Court hasn’t 
decided yet whether Bank of America’s alleged conduct violated any law and 
hasn’t determined whether members of the classes will be entitled to receive 
any additional money based on the allegations. 
• 
If you take no action, you will be part of the case, and you may be bound by 
any judgments entered for or against the classes or any settlement that may 
be entered into on behalf of the classes (see page 10). 
• 
If you do not want to be part of the case, you must follow the instructions 
(see page 10) for opting out by [DATE 60 days from notice mailing]. 
• 
You can learn more at: [website].  
 
 
 
 
Exhibit A
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Table of Contents 
Table of Contents ...................................................................................................... 3 
About This Notice ..................................................................................................... 4 
Why did I get this notice? ............................................................................................... 4 
What do I do next? .......................................................................................................... 4 
What is the deadline to opt out? ................................................................................... 4 
Who is in the class? ......................................................................................................... 4 
Do I have a lawyer representing me in this case? ....................................................... 6 
Learning About the Case .......................................................................................... 7 
What is this case about? ................................................................................................. 7 
What are Plaintiffs asking for? ....................................................................................... 9 
What happens next in this case? ................................................................................... 9 
Deciding What to Do ................................................................................................. 9 
What are my options? .................................................................................................... 9 
Doing Nothing and Staying in the Case .................................................................. 9 
What are the consequences of doing nothing? ........................................................... 9 
Opting Out ............................................................................................................... 10 
What If I don't want to be part of this case? .............................................................. 10 
How do I opt out? ......................................................................................................... 10 
Key Resources ......................................................................................................... 11 
How can I get more information? ............................................................................... 11 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Exhibit A
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About This Notice 
Why did I get this notice? 
This notice is to tell you about a class-action lawsuit, In re Bank of 
America Unemployment Benefits Litigation. This case is brought by EDD 
prepaid debit cardholders who reported unauthorized ATM 
transactions to Bank of America between April 1, 2020 and June 8, 
2021 and who had their claims denied. You received this notice 
because you may be a member of the group of people who may 
have been affected, called the “classes.” This notice gives you 
information about the case and tells you how to opt out if you don’t 
want to be part of it. 
This notice is an important legal document, and we recommend that 
you read all of it. If you have questions or need assistance, please go 
to [website] or call [toll-free number].  
What do I do next? 
Read this notice to understand the case and to determine if you 
believe you are a member of any of the classes. Then, decide if you 
want to stay in the case or opt out. 
What is the deadline to opt out? 
The last day to ask to opt out and be excluded from the case is [date 
60 days from notice mailing].  
Who is in the class? 
The Court approved five classes, some of which overlap. You may be a 
member of one or more of these classes:  
(1) Claim Denial Class: All Bank of America EDD cardholders who 
notified Bank of America that an unauthorized transaction had 
occurred on their Bank of America EDD prepaid debit card account 
(“Claim”) at an automated teller machine (“ATM”), and whose Claim 
Bank of America denied or closed at any time from September 28, 
Exhibit A
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2020 through June 8, 2021, based solely on Indicator 1 of Bank of 
America’s Claim Fraud Filter (“CFF”).1 
(2) Credit Rescission Class: All Bank of America EDD cardholders who 
received permanent credit from the Bank in connection with their 
Claim before September 28, 2020, which credit Bank of America 
rescinded at any time from September 28, 2020 through June 8, 2021, 
based solely on Indicator 1 of Bank of America’s CFF. 
(3) Account Freeze Class: All Bank of America EDD cardholders whose 
EDD prepaid debit card account (“Account”) Bank of America froze at 
any time from September 28, 2020 through March 17, 2021, based 
solely on Indicator 1 of Bank of America’s CFF, and whose Account 
Bank of America (i) subsequently unfroze, or (ii) subsequently 
converted from frozen to blocked status on or after March 18, 2021 
and then unblocked. 
(4) Customer Service Class: All members of the Claim Denial class 
and/or the Credit Rescission class who telephoned Bank of America’s 
customer service telephone number for its EDD cardholders at any 
time from September 13, 2020 through November 21, 2020, and 
whose telephone call was routed to Bank of America’s Claims call 
center.  
(5) EMV Chip Class: All members of the Claim Denial class and/or 
Credit Rescission class whose EDD debit card did not include an EMV 
chip prior to June 9, 2021. Excluded are EDD cardholders who reported 
not having the card in their possession at the time of the unauthorized 
transaction or who never received their card, including those who 
reported a lost or stolen card. 
Excluded from each class is any person whom Bank of America has 
determined or will determine, pursuant to its Remediation Plan with 
the United States Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and 
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), “(i) has been 
disqualified by the [S]tate [of California] from Program eligibility; (ii) 
has previously engaged in fraudulent Program conduct, such as 
 
 
1 Bank of America’s Claim Fraud Filter consisted of three indicators. Indicator 1, the 
only indicator at issue in this case, was triggered by Claims where the EDD 
cardholder disputed an ATM transaction as unauthorized.  
Exhibit A
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submission of fraudulent claims or other abuses of the claims process; 
or (iii) has had their card frozen due to legal order processes, as a 
result of Internal/Vendor fraud investigations, or by Global Financial 
Crimes Compliance.” Also excluded from each class is any person 
whose Claim or Account Bank of America closed, in whole or in part, 
because the State of California requested Bank of America to close 
that person’s Claim or Account. 
If you are receiving this notice, it means that Bank of America’s records 
currently reflect that you may be a member of one or more of the 
classes.  However, if at any point it is determined that you meet one or 
more of the exclusion criteria noted above, you would be excluded 
from the classes and would not be entitled to any money class 
members may receive. 
Do I have a lawyer representing me in this case? 
In a class action, the Court chooses class representatives and lawyers 
to work on the case and represent the interests of all the class 
members. The Court has appointed the following lawyers to represent 
the classes in the case. 
 
Joseph W. Cotchett 
Michael Rubin 
Brian Danitz 
Stacey Leyton 
Karin Swope 
Connie K. Chan 
Cotchett Pitre & McCarthy LLP 
Altshuler Berzon LLP 
840 Malcom Rd., Ste. 200 
177 Post St., Ste. 300 
Burlingame, CA 94010 
San Francisco, CA 94108 
650-697-6000 
415-421-7151 
These are the lawyers who have been approved to bring the case on 
your behalf. You will not be charged for their services, although 
their fees may be paid with the Court's approval from any settlement 
negotiated for the class. 
If you want to be represented by your own lawyer or attempt to 
pursue claims on your own based on the allegations asserted in this 
case, you may opt out and hire one at your own expense. 
Exhibit A
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Learning About the Case 
What is this case about? 
From 2011 until June 2024, the California EDD 
exclusively contracted with Bank of America 
to distribute unemployment insurance, 
disability, and other benefits through prepaid 
debit cards issued by Bank of America. As 
part of the contract, individuals receiving 
unemployment insurance or other public 
benefits were able to access their benefits 
through an EDD prepaid debit card issued by 
Bank of America. Starting in late 2020, a 
series of lawsuits were brought (and later consolidated into this class 
action lawsuit) against Bank of America regarding its administration of 
the EDD prepaid debit card program.  
The current class action lawsuit is brought on behalf of individuals who 
received unemployment insurance and other public benefits from the 
EDD on Bank of America–issued prepaid debit cards (the “Plaintiffs”) 
and alleges that Bank of America implemented a “Claim Fraud Filter” 
starting in September 2020 to deny certain unauthorized transaction 
claims submitted by EDD Cardholders who claimed they experienced 
fraud on their prepaid debit-card account. The Plaintiffs allege that 
Bank of America also used the Claim Fraud Filter to claw back credits it 
had already previously paid to certain EDD Cardholders relating to 
their unauthorized-transaction claims, and to freeze certain EDD 
Cardholders’ accounts. The Plaintiffs further allege that Bank of 
America knowingly understaffed its call center responsible for 
receiving inquiries regarding unauthorized transaction claims, causing 
some EDD Cardholders who called Bank of America about an 
unauthorized transaction between September 13 and November 20, 
2020 to wait on hold excessively. The Plaintiffs also allege that Bank of 
America made EDD Cardholders vulnerable to counterfeit card fraud 
by failing to include EMV security chips on EDD prepaid debit cards 
between April 1, 2020 and June 8, 2021. The Plaintiffs allege that Bank 
of America’s conduct violated federal law including the Electronic Fund 
Transfer Act (“EFTA”) and the Due Process Clause of the U.S. 
Constitution, as well as state law including the California Consumer 
Where can I learn 
more? 
 
You can get a copy of the 
key documents in this 
case by visiting:  
[website] 
Exhibit A
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Privacy Act (“CCPA”), the Due Process Clause of the California 
Constitution, California’s Unfair Competition Law (“UCL”), and 
California common law.  
Bank of America denies that the alleged conduct violated any law, and 
maintains that its use of the Claim Fraud Filter, the technology EDD 
prepaid cards were equipped with at the time, and the staffing of its 
claims call center were consistent with the law, the terms of its 
contract with EDD, and the cardholder agreement for EDD prepaid 
debit cards, and were reasonable in light of the many challenges 
posed by the pandemic and related unemployment benefits fraud.  
In the spring of 2021, Plaintiffs sought and obtained a preliminary 
injunction enjoining Bank of America from denying unauthorized 
transaction claims and freezing EDD Cardholders’ accounts based on 
the Claim Fraud Filter. Following negotiations between the parties and 
with the assistance of a magistrate judge, a federal court entered the 
preliminary injunction that, among other things: (1) prohibited Bank of 
America from denying claims or freezing accounts based on the Claim 
Fraud Filter, (2) required Bank of America to reopen certain claims 
previously denied based on the Claim Fraud Filter, and (3) required 
Bank of America to establish dedicated 24/7 toll-free numbers for 
those seeking assistance with claims intake of frozen accounts. The 
injunction was eventually dissolved as of June 1, 2024 when EDD and 
Bank of America mutually terminated their contract concerning the 
provision of prepaid debit card services to EDD benefits recipients. 
In July 2022, Bank of America entered into consent orders with the 
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Office of the 
Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) based, in part, on the federal 
agencies’ allegations that Bank of America’s use of the Claim Fraud 
Filter violated certain federal laws. As part of resolving the allegations 
made by the federal agencies, Bank of America agreed to a 
remediation plan under which it provided certain compensation to 
cardholders who were affected by the Claim Fraud Filter. If you are a 
member of one or more of the classes, you likely received 
communications about the remediation plan and have already 
received (1) credits for the amount of the unauthorized-transaction 
claim(s) that were denied based on the Claim Fraud Filter and that are 
the subject of this lawsuit and (2) an additional check from Bank of 
America providing compensation for delays you may have experienced 
in receiving payment for an unauthorized-transaction claim and/or 
Exhibit A
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period(s) of time when you may not have had access to your EDD 
prepaid debit card account funds. These payments do not affect your 
eligibility to be a member of any class.  
What are Plaintiffs asking for? 
Plaintiffs are seeking damages, including treble damages on some 
claims and punitive damages on others, in the form of money 
payments to each class member whom Plaintiffs allege was harmed by 
Bank of America’s alleged conduct. 
What happens next in this case? 
The parties are continuing to litigate this case. Both parties may file 
pretrial motions seeking judgments that would be binding on the 
classes, and will then prepare the case for trial unless they reach a 
court-approved settlement.  
Bank of America has also filed a petition with the United States Court 
of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, seeking permission to appeal the 
Court’s ruling approving the classes. If Bank of America’s petition is 
accepted and its appeal is successful, it is possible that Plaintiffs may 
no longer be able to pursue claims on behalf of some or all of the 
classes. Up-to-date information on the status of Bank of America’s 
petition to appeal is available at [website].  
Deciding What to Do 
What are my options? 
You have two options. You can do nothing and stay in the lawsuit, or 
you can opt out of the lawsuit.  
Doing Nothing and Staying in the Case 
What are the consequences of doing nothing? 
If you do nothing, you will be part of the case and your rights will be 
Exhibit A
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affected by the outcome. You won’t be able to file, take part in, or 
continue any other lawsuit against Bank of America based on the 
claims alleged in this case. Additionally, if you take no action, you also 
consent to Bank of America sharing your name, contact information, 
and certain prepaid unemployment account information with class 
counsel who would be acting as your legal representative in this case. 
If Plaintiffs win or reach a court-approved settlement with Bank of 
America, class members may receive payments. Class members may 
be bound by any decision the Court may reach or any terms to which 
the parties may agree and would not be able to seek additional 
amounts based on the claims in this case beyond what the Court may 
award or to which the parties may agree.  
If Bank of America wins, class members will receive nothing and any 
judgment entered in its favor will be binding on all class members. 
Opting Out 
What if I don't want to be part of this case? 
If you do not want to be a part of this case, you must opt out by 
[DATE].  If you do not opt out, you will be assumed to be a member of 
the classes and your rights may be affected in the manner described 
above. 
When is the deadline to opt out of this case? 
You must opt out no later than [date].  
How do I opt out? 
Online:  To opt out of the case, you must [complete the online opt-out 
form at {settlement website address}] 
By mail:  If you prefer, you can opt out by [instructions for opt out 
procedure: e.g., complete the opt out form included with this notice 
and mail it by [date] to the case administrator:] 
 
Exhibit A
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[Case Administrator] 
[Street Address] 
[City, State, Zip Code] 
[Phone Number] 
 
Be sure to include your name, address, telephone number, and 
signature [with your form].  
Key Resources 
How can I get more information? 
This notice summarizes the class-certification decision issued by the 
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. There are 
more details in the case documents. To get a copy of the case 
documents or get answers to your questions: 
• visit the case website at [website] or call the toll-free number below 
• contact the lawyers who represent the class (information below) 
 
Resource 
Address/Contact Information 
Case website  
[website]  
Toll Free Number 
[phone number] 
Class 
Administrator  
[Case Administrator] 
[Street Address] 
[City, State, Zip Code] 
[Phone Number] 
Your Lawyers 
Cotchett Pitre & McCarthy 
840 Malcom Rd., Ste. 200 
Burlingame, CA 94010 
 
Altshuler Berzon LLP 
177 Post St., Ste. 300 
San Francisco, CA 94108 
Exhibit A
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Court (DO NOT 
CONTACT) 
U.S. District Court for the  
Southern District of California 
James M. Carter & Judith N. Keep U.S. Courthouse 
333 West Broadway 
San Diego, CA 92101 
 
Exhibit A
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